The Dogs of Christmas

W. Bruce Cameron has done it again! I laughed out loud, I wept a bit, I smiled, and most importantly, I fell in love with a book AGAIN! Dogs and people who love dogs are two of my favorite things! Bruce just can't help it....his touch is golden!

I thought this was going to be a collection of short stories but instead it is a novel about how a stolen dog and thrown away pups bond with each other and the man, Josh, who is thrust into caring for them. It is a delightful read that would appeal to young and old alike. Cameron has another hit and I look forward to reading his future books!

I have been a long fan of W. Bruce Cameron ever since reading A DOGS PURPOSE and A DOGS JOURNEY. This book is NOT part of the series, and stands alone. It is fantastic. Filled with such emotion. Quick paced. Relationally oriented. Just fantastic. Can't put it down. Highly recommend if you have ever in your life loved a dog!

My daughter and I read Ellie's Story together and loved it, so I bought her this book by the same author for Christmas. Although the picture on the front looks like it would be cute for children, it is definitely not! Fortunately I started reading it at the same time she did, and had to tell her she couldn't continue to read it. (Nothing explicit happens, but the implications are inappropriate for my young daughter.) While I did finish the book, I was bored by it. The book was very unlikely, yet predictable. This purchase was disappointing on many levels.

Have read the previous Cameron's books - A Dog's Purpose and A Dog's Journey - both of which I thoroughly loved! The Dogs of Christmas was somewhat of a let down. Still a sweet dog-human story with a little human love interest thrown into the mix, yet not nearly as heart-tugging as the other books in this series. Spoiler Alert: The best part of the book was when the little blind puppy was reunited with his brother. Otherwise, a rather sappy read.

I have now read all 3 of the "dog" series and this was just as enjoyable as the others. I sat here while reading with tears in my eyes as Josh watched his pups being adopted. A very heartwarming story that could easily become a new Christmas movie classic! So glad I purchased it to read just days before Christmas!

Was a nice story. It held my attention and had a good story behind it. Got a little frustrated with the characters but I guess thats good writing. I don't like fiction or novels so was disapointed as I was looking for a true story about dogs.

This is a cute little story, but it didn't live up to Cameron's original Dog's Purpose. And I really disagreed with some of
the conclusions drawn in this story which ruined it for me. I thought the author took a somewhat controversial stance when he had the "maybe" girlfriend convince the hero in the story to give up all the puppies after raising them and learning to love them. It took a long time to establish this "sorta/kinda" relationship, and I still didn't quite believe in it.

I still want to know why he couldn't keep those puppies if he wanted to keep them and care for them. I mean he lived up in the mountains, and it wasn't like he was living slammed up against somebody else's house like most of us are. It could have been a much better book had he established a real relationship with the girl at the shelter (she's so unmemorable, I can't even remember her name.) However, she was a pushy woman, and I just simply didn't like her. She ruined this book for me - that and her moralizing or whatever she was doing. I would have kept the puppies and got rid of the "sorta/kinda" girlfriend.

Great heartwarming read. Also worked in some 'life lessons' . Kept your attention and kept you hoping. Was hard to put down when there was something you had to do come up. Would recommend this to any animal lover or anyone who likes romance books.

I'm surprised this book is getting as high of ratings as it is. I've read about 1/3 of the book and I probably won't read the rest. It's very poorly written. As a matter of fact, I'm thinking the only reason it was published was because Cameron published other books that were well received. His "A Dog's Purpose" was excellent. This book is not. Here's the premise: A man who's never had a dog receives a dog that's pregnant. He calls the vet because he figures the vet will deliver the puppies. This is understandable, as is the vet's explanation to him that the vet won't deliver the puppies. Then, a couple days later, the dog's whining and fussing and the man totally panics. Even this is plausible, although I would venture to say he would probably not hang up in the middle of a meeting to rush her out the door and to the vet without explaining to anyone what happened. But the dog's harsh delivery of stillborn pups because her terrible previous owner gave her a worthless dog food (even though the guy never mentions what kind it is) is ludicrous. As is the sudden appearance of a box of pups being left in his truck. Newborn pups, mind you, in freezing cold weather, that somehow all survive until he discovers they're in his truck. The call to the local pet rescue results in a woman appearing at his house the very next day, even though she told him the roads were impassable. She gives him very bossy instructions about a special box he needs to build, if he's capable, while examining all the photos on his mantel. Of course, this takes place right after his boss fires him - not for hanging up in a meeting and not contacting anyone for a few days, but for making the boss look bad by sending an email. This doesn't phase him, though. He accepts it as normal practice. He's only a contractor, after all. He goes to the pet rescue the next day and the nosy pet rescue person goes to lunch with him and bawls him out for making a shrine for his ex girlfriend while admitting she spied at his medicine cabinets because she tends to choose men who are druggies and she wants to make sure he isn't one - even though she never went beyond the one room in his house. We also find out that at some unknown point he called the vet and the vet was not at all surprised that someone left newborn pups in his truck and his dog immediately adopted them. The whole premise is just utterly ridiculous. It's quite possible this book gets better. I kept assuming it would. As I said, I loved the other book of Cameron's that I read. I feel, though, that by the time I'm a third of the way through a book, I've given it plenty of time to get better.

Unlike many dog stories that leave one sobbing in a sea of tissues at the end, this one is light hearted and sweet. I have read all if the authir's books. I like the way that he presents the dog psyche. I bought four copies for my friends for Christmas.

Just what I was looking for during the Christmas season! I couldn't put it down until I had read the whole book. As a Family Therapist and a dog lover, I appreciated the author's insights into both canine and human behavior. This would be the perfect gift for all dog lovers.

I previously read "A Dog's Purpose" and a "A Dog's Journey", so I knew in ordering this book that I would enjoy it. I however, did not know how much I would fall in love with the story! I could not put this book down once I started it! A truly moving story.

"A Dogs Purpose" is one my favortite books and I was expecting far more from the author. This is a really dull story about a lonely man and a girl he meets at the animal shelter. Oh yeah and the dogs were thrown in as windown dressing. It's a shame...author just wanted to cash in on the Christmas market.

nothing like his other dog books, to focused on the 2 legged romance instead of the pups, and what was lucys like after she went back to her owner. , and rufs and cody ,other books were much more engaging, made you laugh and cry

For the last handful of years, I've made it a point of reading a few Christmas-themed works to maybe get me a little more jazzed about the holidays. Mr. Cameron's novel seemed tailor-made for me. Not only do I love dogs (our family has two,) but I also enjoyed his previous work 'A Dog's Purpose' and assumed 'The Dogs of Christmas' would be similar. Regrettably, it was not the case. The scenes involving the dogs were fine. It was the human interactions and their thoughts that were quite bland and felt artificial.

The main protagonist Josh Michaels is a good-looking (of course) 28-year-old guy who was dumped by his gorgeous (of course) live-in girlfriend. Then another gorgeous (of course) woman who works at the town's animal shelter comes into the picture. Man oh man, the dude comes across, throughout the story, as a meek brooder with low self-esteem in the ladies' department. His oh-woe-is-me attitude got old pretty damn quick. Also, if you're looking for a squeaky clean story with no profanity and anything beyond a kiss is what you consider porn, then, baby, this is the book for you. I think middle school students and maybe high schoolers, who like dogs, would enjoy 'The Dogs of Christmas.' It has no or few words they will find challenging.

Essentially, Mr. Cameron's novel is so sweet you may develop diabetes. Everything wraps up in such a neat little bow it might as well have been categorized as a Harlequin/Doggie fantasy. There's nothing wrong with it if that's the kind of stuff you like to read, but I never felt connected to any of the people and didn't care squat what happened to them. However, the book is helpful in that the author does educate the reader about certain dog qualities and misperceptions. Hey, and at least the cover is cute.

My mother-in-law let me read this; it was such a heart-warming book. Mostly about Lucy and Josh (handsome web master-geek) and how their relationship developed. Lucy was dumped on Josh by his neighbor who had to go to France to bail his brother out (sure he did). Anyhow Josh wasn't too happy about this since he had never had a dog. Oh and Lucy was about to give birth to puppies! Josh does his best but how could he resist those sad brown eyes. The story also was about Josh's feelings of abandonment first by his parents then being dumped by Amanda (girlfriend) for another man. Now he has this large pregnant female dog but Lucy loses her puppies (due to poor nutrition by neighbor). Then someone leaves a box in his truck with newborn puppies on a cold winter night. Now what's he supposed to do?! Lucy comes through nurses and accepts them. Enter Kerrie from a Rescue group to help Josh with finding homes but he has difficulty with this and wants to keep all 7 + Lucy. Josh & Kerrie's love/friendship progresses with ups & downs once he gets rid of the "Amanda museum".. I loved his friends Leigh & Wayne (Dude) and making Thanksgiving dinner (how hard can it be, right). This story has cute puppies, a Christmas with snowstorm and Josh finally finding a family who won't leave him. It is a realistic story and the characters are well developed, funny and loveable. There is a sweet love story along with a little heartbreak and Josh growing stronger through it all.

Having a heartache is no excuse for the Universe when a bothersome neighbor you barely know leaves a pregnant dog on your door for you to take care of. Josh's never had a dog in his life, but something in the way Lucy (the dog) looks at him gets to his soul and he's willing to learn all about the chaotic life of a dog owner with newborn puppies on the way. In the process, he meets Kerri in the dog shelter who helps him through the whole procedure of taking care of Lucy and Co., plus giving in adoption the puppies for the Christmas Program of The Dog's of Christmas. One thing he wasn't expecting though was that these cute puppies would make him so happy and hard to let go of. As he gets used to a life full of joy from the puppies, Josh also has to deal with family problems, his own love life, and he wants to do from there.

This is the third book by W. Bruce Cameron I've read, the previous ones being A Dog's Journey and A Dog's Purpose. I admit I was a bit disappointing that this book didn't have the point of view from a dog but instead of third person. Bruce has a way of making you feel like you're the dog in the other two books that made me ache to read from that POV once again. Either way, this book was great. A true work of art by a very talented author.

We have Josh, a man with a broken heart who's life is extremely simple. He works at home in computer stuff and is constantly waiting for his ex-girlfriend to come home. He has family issues since his parent divorced when he was younger, barely talking to the member of said former family. He was blunt and ignorant to some things but he seemed to warm up my heart little by little. Three-dimensional and believable, he made a good main character along with Kerri, the sweetheart girl who sweeps him off his feet into a truer and adventurous love in contrast to his ex.

The book has that same quality that attracted me to these dog books by W. Bruce Cameron. It makes you have a whole different view on dogs, our best friends. Either you are a dog lover or just a person who thinks they're cute, this book is amazing. Even if it wasn't described from a dog's view, Josh was so good at giving us a piece of Lucy's mind as best he could. It was a cute, fluffy, fast read that is perfect for the holidays or any other day of the year. Among my favorites by this author. It gives us hope, understanding, simpathy, and the value of dogs in our lives, how simple their living style is and how happy they are when treated with care and love. It teaches us that we have to move on from past relationships because the ones we're meant to have is just around the corner (I'm still looking for that corner though...), and how we shouldn't be resentful towards our family and loved ones. A very beautiful tale I recommend anyone in seek of love and cuteness overload.

I'm looking forward to more W. Bruce Cameron. His writing style is strong, simple, emotional, I even cried! I always cry in his books. And he's so cool. I once received an email from him on my birthday and he "sang" me happy birthday (That was last year of 2013). Really worth reading <3

Rating: 5 stars

Review by Jennifer Madero :)

I absolutely loved this book! A perfect story for anyone who loves dogs and sweet love stories. Main character, who has never ever owned a dog, has a hugely pregnant one dumped on him in October. Days later the dog goes into labor and he now finds himself with five puppies and a nursing mama. He's recovering from a broken relationship and essentially a broken life, but learning to care for and love these dogs, as well as the lovely shelter worker who stops by after a frantic call for help, helps him find his way to a wonderful life and love. Every note to this book was a delight and captures all that is wonderful about the relationship between a person and a dog, little kids and puppies and the exact right person. I slurped this up in one day because I couldn't put it down. The smiles and warm feelings it evoked in me will not soon be forgotten.

I read the "one star" reviews here, as is my practice before I sit down to post my own reviews. Sometimes the people who hate a book have a point, sometimes not. There are only a couple of one-stars here, and I think they are way off base. They seemed to have loved Bruce's earlier book "A Dog's Purpose." I found that one one-third unpleasant, one-third just OK, and one-third brilliant. "The Dogs of Christmas" is a sentimental love story. Easy reading, but great entertainment. It satisfied me like a well-done Lifetime Channel holiday rom-com, and when one is in the mood for a happy ending, books like this are just the ticket. Will it live forever and be considered great literature? No. Does it have to, to make it worth my time to read it? No. It has to move me. This book did. I didn't want to put it down The weakest part is the opening, and after the bad neighbor disappears from the story, it gets compelling. I love dogs, I love romance, and although I only spent a few days in the Denver area one summer a couple of years ago, I even like Colorado. If you like those things, you should enjoy this book. My friend Jim Clark gave me this copy, and had the author sign it for me. He's a Cameron fan. He did the same thing with "A Dog's Purpose." He knows dogs are one of my many weaknesses. Well, this gift was just right.

I read this book in hopes that it would be a great story about dogs and a touch of romance. I Found this book to be exactly that. Also there was lessons to be learned that were easy to understand. This book was full of joy but there were also parts of the story that made me want to cry. The characters were okay but I felt that they could have used a little more development especially when it came to the connection between Josh and Kerri. There was times when I really didn't see a connection between them.
Josh still feels that he was abandoned by his family when he was younger. He wants to hang on to everything he can like a relationship that was long gone and to keep all of the 5 puppies. Josh was preparing for the holidays when a dog was dropped on his doorstep by a guy Josh knew. He didn't want to watch the dog but the guy left him no choice. He also didn't plan that the dog was very much about to give birth. Josh had to try to figure things out and quick. Thankfully he found a woman at the shelter who said she would help him but would she only succeed in complicating matters more? This book was full of surprises and I enjoyed reading it. I think this book would be good for almost anyone especially dog lovers and those looking for a simple Christmas story.

A delightful page-turner for dog lovers with romantic hearts. Cameron has created a realistic tale that informs and enchants. He writes with literary finesse and keeps readers on the edge of their seats worrying about Lucy, her adopted puppies, and the cautious relationship between Josh and Kerri.

A fringe benefit of the book is the depiction of the humanitarian activities of dog rescue organizations.

Don’t wait until Christmas to gift a dog-loving friend with this heartwarming story. Having owned many boxers, I liked it that the abandoned puppies had some dominant boxer traits.

-Hope Irvin Marston, author of EYE ON THE IDITAROD: AISLING’S QUEST

I am a total sucker for anything dog or Christmas related, so I just about died when I saw this book. While I thought it was cute and heartwarming, I wasn’t blown away.

Josh Michaels is a heartbroken man, living alone in the mountains of Colorado. When his neighbor abandons her pregnant dog, Lucy, at Josh’s place, he is not happy at all. He has never owned a dog, has no interest in owning a dog, and is panic-stricken about what he will do with her and her puppies. When he calls the local animal shelter about the situation, he meets Kerri, a spunky animal lover who sparks something in his heart again. While she prepares him and the pups for their adoption, in the annual “Dogs of Christmas” event, he realizes that not only has he fallen for Kerri, but he has also fallen for his new dog family. The thought of saying goodbye to them is heartbreaking but he knows he might lose Kerri if he refuses. He never expected to love again, or have his life changed by a littler of puppies, but life throws curveballs all the time. Now, Josh has to figure out what to do before the time comes for the puppies to leave.

I loved all the puppy antics and how accurate the whole “falling for a dog” aspect was. I was a total cat person until I fell in love with my dog, Dakota, at the local animal shelter and took him home. Now my heart melts for dogs all the time, and to see the same thing happen to Josh was both touching and relatable. It was nice to see the dogs warm Josh’s heart after an ex-girlfriend left him sad and lonely. The dogs gave him a new purpose in life.

While I enjoyed this quick, cute read, I didn’t love it as much as I had expected to. For some reason, I really didn’t enjoy the character of Josh. I loved what he was doing and thought he had a good heart, BUT, I thought he was a really flat character with no personality. I know his heart had been broken, but he just fell completely flat to me.

If you love dogs and Christmas, I think you’ll enjoy this one too. I just wish Josh had been a stronger character with more pizzazz and personality.

The Dogs Of Christmas is a charming holiday tale that explores the power of love, trust and a basket full of puppies. However, if you go in expecting this book to be even close to the caliber of Cameron's A Dog's Purpose and it's sequel, A Dog's Journey, you are more than likely going to feel that this book, while entertaining, did not meet your expectations.

I won't describe the plot of A Dog's Christmas, as this is very nicely provided in the the store Book Description above. Instead, I'll describe why I thought it to be a likable book but not one I'd recommend that you rush out to be buy -- unless you are a major dog lover with a strong need to read a nice uplifting story during this holiday season.

On the plus side, Cameron does a nice job in describing the joy a dog and a new litter of pups can bring to a person's life, as well as conveying the importance of animal rescue and adoption. However, where the book fell somehwat shot for me pertained to Cameron's development of his human characters -- and particularly of the main male character. To me, the humans in this book were pretty thinly developed and, thus came across as flat with little personality. As a result, while they were serviceable to the story, I never really came to care a lot about them. As a matter of fact, while I admire the main male character for the love he showed to the dogs, I thought of him mostly as a bit of a jerk.

I hope you find this review helpful in deciding if it is a book for you.

Happy Holidays!

Congratulations, Mr. Cameron. You have written another excellent story that I wanted to keep reading...sometimes at the expense of my own four dogs. They didn't get to walk on time every day because I was too interested in your book. I would recommend this book to all my friends who don't have dogs. Your story may encourage them to adopt a canine friend. I appreciate your thoughtful development of Josh 's character and how his dogs helped him become a better person. You always "get it right" as far as human/canine relationships go. I really liked your other books, and this one did not disappoint. Keep them coming!

Well if you have never read a book by Mr. Bruce Cameron you are missing out! He has a way with words and dogs! I loved A Dog's Purpose and want to read a Dog's Journey and loved loved loved this book The Dogs of Christmas. In this book you find Josh who has never had a dog and is in his twenty's but a so called neighbor friend leaves/dumps a pregnant dog with him and in the beginning it takes you thru him trying to do his best but also obtain help as she is almost helpless in what to do plus he is a man LOL. He meets Kerry at the shelter and there are sparks btwn them but Josh has been hurt pretty deeply when his ex-girlfriend dumped him for another guy. Josh ends up falling head over heals for both the dogs and the girl but not w/o some ups and downs and rocks thrown in to rock the boat!

If you even remotely like dogs read this book, it doesn't even have to be Christmas!!!! 5+*!!!

* * * * * and I highly highly recommend this book! Keep them coming Mr. Cameron

W. Bruce Cameron clearly knows dogs! From his book, "A Dog's Purpose" to "A Dog's Journey," he truly has a gift for expressing the incredible bond that is shared by dogs and humans. His new book, "The Dogs of Christmas" is so heartwarming, so joyous, and so completely enchanting, I dare anyone to read it and not immediately go to the nearest animal shelter to adopt a dog.

Josh Michaels is outraged when a neighbor drops off a very pregnant dog for him to care for. He is not one who ever wanted a dog and right now is not the time as Josh just broke up with his girlfriend and in no mood for "dog setting"

To make matters worst the so called friend never told Josh the dog was Lucy and very much pregnant. Never being owner of a dog and having no interest, Josh had no idea what to do with the dog and especially when she was to have her puppies. This story holds some laughs as Josh gets more involved then he wants to.

He needs help from an animal shelter and this makes the book even more funnier as Josh acted like a brand new father. After not wanting a dog the story has many" dips and dos" in it.

Kerri is a worker at the animal shelter and about as hard headed as Josh is and when the two clash heads you have a lot to follow in the pages of this book.

A must read for anyone who is an animal lover and if you aren't one..you will be after reading this story.

I just loved the combination of the love for the dogs and for Kerrie. I thought all through the book that Rufus and Cody should stay together and pleasantly surprised when they got back together. I was really moved when all the puppies were going to be adopted and then also Lucy. I kind of surmised that something good would probably happen at the end but as I earlier stated Cody and Rufus together was the best.

Great story! Really sweet but not syrupy. I think everyone who has ever owned a dog will agree with the feelings that grew from someone who was forced to bring a dog into his home - only to find out that he got more out of the relationship than the dog did. I highly recommend this book!

A very heartwarming book. Not only do we see someone who is not an animal person slowly become a person who is a total dog person but we see the love and affection these dogs give back to all those around them. If you want to read a book that warms the soul, this book is for you.

This has got to be one of my favorite books because of
1: i have a havenes ( you should look that up if you do not know what that is ps its a dog )and she is the awsomeist dog in tge world ( stupiex hand ) sorry that i cant tiep) this toke my one hourvyo right this because i gad yo earse)
2: its hearg warming and swert

This is really "just" a romance novel, but the twists and turns along the way raise it to heights few romances ever reach. You will laugh out loud and cry a bit while reading this.

Great light reading. Highly reccomend

This is a very poignant little book, sweet and funny, and tugs at the heart strings --- when it's about the puppies. Spare us, however, Field Marshall Kerri. I seriously cannot take another page of the patronizing, controlling way she marches into Josh's life. That a guy like him would go tongue tied at the sight of this Kerri person and start tripping over his own feet is really, really lame. More please of A Dog's Purpose, A Dog's Journey. Those are such wonderful stories.

This is a wonderful book. Have a tissue handy for certain parts but the sad tears become happy tears. I love dogs and this was a great book to read. Didn't want to put it down. I will read the authors other dog books now!

I never do this, but I came to read the reviews as I wanted to see if I was the only person who does not like this book. I loved his other two books beyond words. I was so excited to see this when I saw it available at the library, took it home and immediately began reading it - with high expectations due to the previous two. I am just over half through this one, and I am not going to finish it. I love the dogs, but HATE the characters, especially Kerri. It is supposed to be a love story, I think, but who would be attracted to HER? I don't even like reading about her and her abrasiveness and forwardness. And for him to be attracted to that, I don't really like him either. Mr. Cameron, I can't believe you wrote that and please don't do it again. P.S. I cannot understand all of the good reviews here for this book.